Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-11-24
OF eENERAL INTEREsT.

at Buda Pesth.
1t cost England five thousand dol
lars to purchase a garter for the Crown
Prince of Austria.
"A brass key, used rs sinker by
Yarmouth, N. S., citizen, was carried
away by fish. and several days later
was found in a lobster pot one mile
away
Paper containing ligneous sub
stances such as straw, wood and jute,
is rapidly discolored by electric lights
The yellowing is due 10 the phenome-
non of oxidation.
Powdered glass is largely taking
the place of sand in the manufacture of
sandpaper. 1t is readily pulverized by
heating it red-hOt and throwing it into
water, the finishing being done in an
iron mortar.
"A japanese soldier is taught to
run as we'll as advance. By and by,
when the Japs become fully up in eau
casian ways. they will only need to be
taught to advance, for the running will
suggest itself.
A numbing action. similar to that of
cocaine, has been found to result from
the external application to the body of
the well-known intoxicating drink OF
the South Sea islanders called kava.-
ArkGnSaW Traveller.
Signal ropes for mines are on the
continent made of ditta metal, for the
reason that this metal resists corro-
sion. 1t is said to have tensile
strength of more than fifty ton per
square inch of section.
"A Minneapolis woman was fined
ten dollars for breaking her umbrella
over the head of street masher, bpt
the public sent her over two hundred
dollars to pay the fine with. She ought
/ to distribute the money among one
hundred and ninety other women and
let them clean out the pests.-DetrOtt
Free Press.
"A Cliff street man. has a cocker
spaniel that will not eat breakfast until
his face is washed. The dog spent his
puppyhood in family with children
and took his turn with them at the
morning wash. If his toilet is neglect
ed he doesn't weep, but sits right down
| and bowls. and there is no peace until
his eyes are clear and his head combed.
-NorUich Bulletin.
"A farmer in the south of England
| recently fell down precipice distance
/ of over sixty feet and was dashed in
pieces by coming in contact with the
rocks. His collie dog went to the body
and banked till he had called the neigh
bors. He piloted them down to the
place where his master lay. followed
+ the body home and kept watch over it
till it was placed in the grave.
"A valuable practical fact receives
additional support from experiments
| on the influence of sunshine upon the
vitality of the germs of microbes as =
conducted by NJ. Z. DuclauX. He cul-
/ tivated Tyrothrix scaber in milk and
Liebig's extract, and found that the
: light of the sun is fifty times more de-
structive than its heat, thus fully con-
firming its hygienic properties.-M.I y
Herald.
AN English writer observes that
the sense of hearing in some birds
seems us wonderful and discriminating
as that of smell in dogs. A thrush
has been seen to listen for worms, and
very evidently to hear them, too.
though within two yards of a noisy ]
lawn-mower; while robins appear ID
be able to distinguish the voices of
their own offspring and parents from
number of others, and at great dis
tance. 1t is suggested that such cases
indicate the exclusive direction of the
attention of n sense rather than mere
-ArbansdCO Traveller
Many interesting illustrations of
popular ignorance relating to geo.
graphical matters were lately given by
Colonel Sir Charles Warren, at IL meets
ing of the British Association for the
Advancement OF Science. He men
toned the case of an educated sur
veyor who could not rid himself of the
notion that Paris was further north
than London, and said that he had
found that out Of thirty well-instructed
men, between eighteen and twenty
years of age. about eighteen of them
were under the impression that while
the sun rises in the East the stars rise
in the West.-M y. Ledger.
The development of the telegraph
system in this country is one of the
marvels of modern civilization. From
Il mere experiment on single wire be-
tween Washington and Baltimore in
1874. within the memory of many per-
sons yet living, it has grown to be one
of the governing forces in our philoso-
ply of material and social progress
The Western Union Company alone
now has $50. 900 miles of wires. and the
messages which it handled during the
year ended June 80. 1887, reached
total of Al. 404.530. The figures indi-
cate at II glance the practical value of
the invention and the close relation
which it bears to the daily affairs of